Island Peak & Chukhung Ri

We spent the last few days away from the Aid Clinic. The other volunteers kept watch over everything while we went off on a side trip. We went over the ridge between Pheriche and Dingboche and then up the valley towards Island Peak. We stayed in Chukhung which is a small town about halfway up the valley. We took a longer and higher route to get there than is typical, and just settled in for the night.

On our way to Chukhung we ran into two women from Cambridge (MA). It is a small world. We also met some people from Switzerland, and a large group of Germans who sang German folk songs for hours. In the tea house, we spent a long time talking to a Nepali guide who speaks 15+ languages fluently. He spent awhile talking to us about the diverse ethnic groups, religions, and customs of people in Nepal. He also told us of some good trekking routes and that we should visit Pokhara and the Chitawa National Forest before we leave Nepal. We have a few days on the end of out trip (assuming flights out of Lukla are on schedule). Perhaps it would be a good side trip. It's in the lower land area of Nepal and much warmer so that is appealing. Plus we could see Bengal tigers.

Sunday morning we hiked to Island Peak Base Camp which turned out to be a nine mile trek at 16,000+ feet which was pretty exhausting. The views were amazing however, and the trail varied between walking a high narrow ridgeline to crossing wide low glacial beds. It is quite likely that we were the only people around for miles in the middle of our trek. There were several tents at base camp though and a few people practicing their climbing skills on a nearby icefall, probably for a summit attempt in the next few days.

This morning we awoke early, ate toast and eggs, and hiked up Chukhung Ri. This very steep trail gained 2,500 feet in only 1.5 miles. It took us 2.5 hours to climb and only 45 minutes to descend. We attained the highest altitude so far this trip at 17,500 feet. We attempted to capture the beauty of 360 degrees of snow-capped peaks but it is still nothing to the first hand view.

Then it was back to Pheriche and the Aid Clinic. Despite intense sun for most of our excursion we arrived in Pheriche with snow blowing sideways at our backs. Fortunately there was enough sun early in the day to heat plenty of water for us to take steaming hot (million $) showers. Next we will man the Aid Clinic while the other two doctors (Chris & Penny) get away for a few days.

H&C

P.S. Has anyone received a postcard from us? We sent out a bunch but have no idea how long they take to travel back to the states (or anywhere else).